Never Again Will I Visit Auschwitz
A Graphic Family Memoir of Trauma & Inheritance
Ari Richter
(Author)
21,000+ Reviews
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Description
Never Again Will I Visit Auschwitz is an act of self-discovery and the resuscitation of historical memory. At its heart is the intersection of a genocidal political moment in 20th century history and the author's own family history. Told from the perspectives of four generations of the author's family, spanning pre-war Germany to post-Trump America, it is both a celebration of Jewish cultural resilience and a warning of democracy's fragility in the face of the seductive forces of authoritarianism. Part travelogue, part memoir, part historic retelling, author Ari Richter recreates his family's journey leading up to and extending beyond the Holocaust.
Relying on extensive genealogical research and his family's archiving, Richter illustrates the lives of his grandparents while reflecting on the burden of a storyteller to carry on these legacies. It is a rare glimpse into the firsthand stories of both Holocaust survivors and their descendants, told as an intertwined tapestry of faith, grief, and ultimately, survival. Never Again Will I Visit Auschwitz is an intimate reflection on coming to grips with the past. Harrowing and humorous in equal measure, this evocatively drawn graphic novel will be discussed for generations to come.
Product Details
| Publisher | Fantagraphics Books |
| Publish Date | August 20, 2024 |
| Pages | 256 |
| Language | English |
| Type |  Hardback |
| EAN/UPC | 9781683969624 |
| Dimensions | 10.6 X 7.6 X 1.0 inches | 2.5 pounds |
About the Author
Ari Richter is a visual artist and Professor at the City University of New York. His drawings, sculptures, videos, performances and lectures have been presented in museums, galleries and academic spaces throughout the U.S. Richter is the recipient of fellowships from the Mellon Foundation and the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, as well as a fully public education from grade school to graduate school. The grandson of Holocaust survivors and son of therapists, he lives in New York with his wife and two daughters.
Reviews
Phenomenal... Highly, highly recommend.--Chris Hayes, MSNBC
A multilayered book about his grandparents' and great-grandparents' imprisonment in Dachau, Buchenwald and Auschwitz; the lives they made in America (including Tampa, Florida, where Richter grew up); and what Richter calls the safe, 'white American identity' he inherited.-- "Jewish Telegraphic Agency"
Richter's graphic memoir embeds his grandparents' stories of escape within his own of assimilation and privilege in the United States.--Marc Tracy "The New York Times"
Amid a crowded landscape of literature by Holocaust survivors and their descendants, Never Again Will I Visit Auschwitz stands out for the way in which it relentlessly questions the author's own assumptions about his family, about memory, and about himself.-- "The Forward"
Never Again is dense, thought provoking, enlightening and broad ranging in connecting past and present, and as such transcends single person memoirs.-- "The Slings & Arrows"
The word 'memoir' cannot hold everything bursting out of this book... wrestles deeply with what it means to be Jewish, and American, and part of a family, and a person alive in today's world.-- "The Washington Post"
Captivating... Richter uses dark humor, his-tor-i-cal details, and extend-ed metaphors to great effect. He also suc-ceeds in mov-ing between per-spec-tives and combining doc-u-men-ta-tion of the Holo-caust with unflinch-ing self-questioning.-- "Jewish Book Council"
[A] provocative graphic memoir debut. ... By turns funny and horrifying, it adds up to a telling study of how the past informs the present.-- "Publishers Weekly"
Never Again... is an impressive feat of family excavation and a heartrending story about inheritance. Richter narrates his grandparents' harrowing tales of survival with graphic ingenuity while honoring the enduring sources of Jewish trauma. And he never forgets humor, the balm for our grief. I'm so glad this book exists--Amy Kurzweil, author of Flying Couch: A Graphic Memoir and Artificial: A Love Story
A multilayered book about his grandparents' and great-grandparents' imprisonment in Dachau, Buchenwald and Auschwitz; the lives they made in America (including Tampa, Florida, where Richter grew up); and what Richter calls the safe, 'white American identity' he inherited.-- "Jewish Telegraphic Agency"
Richter's graphic memoir embeds his grandparents' stories of escape within his own of assimilation and privilege in the United States.--Marc Tracy "The New York Times"
Amid a crowded landscape of literature by Holocaust survivors and their descendants, Never Again Will I Visit Auschwitz stands out for the way in which it relentlessly questions the author's own assumptions about his family, about memory, and about himself.-- "The Forward"
Never Again is dense, thought provoking, enlightening and broad ranging in connecting past and present, and as such transcends single person memoirs.-- "The Slings & Arrows"
The word 'memoir' cannot hold everything bursting out of this book... wrestles deeply with what it means to be Jewish, and American, and part of a family, and a person alive in today's world.-- "The Washington Post"
Captivating... Richter uses dark humor, his-tor-i-cal details, and extend-ed metaphors to great effect. He also suc-ceeds in mov-ing between per-spec-tives and combining doc-u-men-ta-tion of the Holo-caust with unflinch-ing self-questioning.-- "Jewish Book Council"
[A] provocative graphic memoir debut. ... By turns funny and horrifying, it adds up to a telling study of how the past informs the present.-- "Publishers Weekly"
Never Again... is an impressive feat of family excavation and a heartrending story about inheritance. Richter narrates his grandparents' harrowing tales of survival with graphic ingenuity while honoring the enduring sources of Jewish trauma. And he never forgets humor, the balm for our grief. I'm so glad this book exists--Amy Kurzweil, author of Flying Couch: A Graphic Memoir and Artificial: A Love Story
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